São Paulo school uses SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards to enhance teaching and learning
SÃO PAULO, Brazil --- April 26, 2011 --- SMART Technologies Inc., (NASDAQ: SMT) (TSX: SMA) announces that Dante Alighieri School in São Paulo, Brazil, has been named the first Brazillian SMART Showcase School. Dante Alighieri was chosen for its dedication to improving learning outcomes by using SMART products in outstanding ways. The school is equipped with 115 SMART Board interactive whiteboards installed in classrooms, laboratories, music rooms and faculty meeting rooms, and most teachers use SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software on a daily basis to create and deliver interactive lessons. Dante Alighieri will be formally recognized as a SMART Showcase School during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held today in the school courtyard.
Administrators at Dante Alighieri first introduced SMART Board interactive whiteboards to classrooms in 2002, believing that interactive technology products would enhance the teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students. They found SMART products enabled students and teachers to interact with digital content and work together, giving students more hands-on time for learning. Since SMART products were introduced to classrooms, teachers have also noted a marked increase in students’ attendance and engagement, along with improvements in their assessments. After witnessing the benefits of using SMART Board interactive whiteboards in some of their classrooms, Alighieri administrators chose to continue to install additional SMART Board interactive whiteboards throughout the rest of the district. SMART Notebook software has also offered educators continual opportunities for training and professional development, sharing digital content with peers and developing interactive lessons that engage learners.
“Integrating SMART Board interactive whiteboards into our classrooms has enabled us to create stronger relationships between our teachers and students,” says Valdenice Minatel Melo de Cerqueira, Coordinator of Educational Technology at Dante Alighieri. “We are honored to be named the first SMART Showcase School in Brazil and to be recognized for our achievements using SMART products to benefit both our educators and students.”
"We are delighted to appoint Dante Alighieri as the first SMART Showcase School in Brazil and applaud the work their educators have done to enhance teaching and learning using SMART products,” says Ruy Mendes, SMART’s Country Manager, Brazil. “The success witnessed at Dante Alighieri is a testament to the value of using SMART products to create engaging environments that enable educators to increase student participation and improve learning outcomes.”
About Dante Alighieri School
Dante Alighieri School was founded in São Paulo 95 years ago by Italian immigrants. Today, more than 4,200 students attend the school, which has 5 buildings, 115 classrooms and 5 open-air athletic courts. Considered one of the most traditional schools in Brazil, its goals are to unite Brazilian and Italian culture and to uphold ethical and educational values. For more information on Dante Alighieri School, visit colegiodante.com/br/instructional.
About SMART Showcase Schools
SMART Showcase Schools use SMART products in outstanding ways. They are a resource for other educators who want to learn more about the benefits of implementing SMART products in classrooms. Visitors to SMART Showcase Schools will see how SMART products are used every day to engage students and enhance lessons. SMART Showcase Schools are found in the United States, Canada, Central and Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation and Brazil. To learn more about SMART Showcase Schools, see smarttech.com/showcaseschools.
About SMART
SMART Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of collaboration solutions that transform the way the world works and learns. We believe that collaboration and interaction should be easy. As the global leader in interactive whiteboards, we bring more than two decades of collaboration research and development to a broad range of easy-to-use, integrated solutions that free people from their desks and computer screens, so collaborating and learning with digital resources are more natural.
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